Thirsk cafe transformed into shrine to Tour de France

A CAFE run by a Tour de France volunteer has been turned into a shrine to the world’s biggest annual sporting event.

Andrew Cussons has decorated Yorks of Thirsk with a 1960s racing bike used to break the 12-hour distance record, yellow, green & polka dot bunting, a Tour de France countdown blackboard, stage route maps and cycling jerseys which have taken his wife, Karen, three months to knit.

Mr Cussons said he hoped the Market Place café, which has four large windows from which cyclists can watch their bikes, would become a cycling hub, adding that it had stocks of puncture repair kits, inner tubes and framed limited edition Tour de France prints.

He said: “While we remain first and foremost a family café, we wanted to mark the once-in-a-lifetime visit of the Tour de France to Yorkshire.

“The majority of customers say the café looks really good and have been getting into it asking questions, so the staff have become experts on the route.”

Mr Cussons, who has run the café for 20 years, said he hoped the makeover would help his business stand out in the historic market square, which has 23 other cafes.